2/26/2014

Good morning!  Temps are 39 this morning... supposed to rain.

BOXES

Abbey with the 8 track toy

Thank you Karin Burns for the cat carrier!

Thank you Annette Funseth for the foods, trash bags, dryer sheets, magic erasers!

Thank you Anita Wright for the foods!

Thank you Karin for the camera, case and carrier!!

Thank you DeAnna DeRosa for the eight track catnip toy, sardine cat nip toys!

Sterling playing with the sardine toys

Thank you Linda Carden for the Dawn dishwashing soap and cleaner!

Thank you Jo Anne Larson for the camera!

Thank you Kimberlee Binder for the beds!

Thank you Darian Mark for the foods!

Thank you unnamed for all the crystal litter!

Thank you unnamed for all the wonderful toys!

Gina and Nicky with the boxes

Let’s Chat about Cat Chatter

by Jill Anne Sparapany

Have you ever watched your cat when he’s riveted on a bird chirping outside the window?

Does he ‘chatter’?

There are some theories about cat chattering behavior. The most domesticated cat has retained their wild hunting instincts. When they are “on the hunt,” these instincts are naturally brought out. What purpose does the chatter serve on the hunt? Why does the cat chatter when he sees a bird or rodent?

A group of scientists doing fieldwork in the Amazon forest recorded vocalizations of a group of pied tamarin monkeys. A wildcat showed up and started making calls identical to the vocalizations of the monkeys! This was the first recorded instance of a wildcat in the Americas mimicking calls of its prey.

The scientists of the Wildlife Conservation Society, who worked on the monkey project, suspect all cats can copy the calls of their prey. Cats, well known for their physical agility and stealth, may bring an additional skill to their hunt – chattering.

Cat chatter usually begins when a bird is chirping loudly near a cat. The cat becomes intensely focused on the bird and the cat crouches down and its tail swishes from side to side, as if getting ready to pounce through the glass. Within a minute, the cat starts to tweet and chatter with its mouth moving in sync with the birds beak. It is thought one reason cats chatter when they see a bird is because they are attempting to imitate the bird call to lure their prey closer.

Other theories about why domestic cats chatter when hunting are from the anticipation of the hunt or from the surge of adrenalin and it’s how the cat controls his over-the-top excitement at spotting the bird. Others think it is when the cat is frustrated from not being able to get to the prey. If chattering is related to frustration, you can engage your cat in an interactive play session so your cat can go from feeling frustrated to fulfilling.

The monkeys were nearly fooled by the close presence of a predator. Many feral cats are successful in catching birds using the chatter technique. The chattering noises are not meaningless sounds but may mean much more to the intended prey.

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2. http://www.shelterchallenge.com/ 
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